Do Americans think their lives would be better living in Canada? What one poll found

Many Americans think the grass is greener in the Great White North, according to new polling.

In a Feb. 27 YouGov survey, a plurality of respondents — 36% — said their lives would generally be better if they and their families lived in Canada instead of the United States.

Smaller shares said their lives would be worse in Canada (23%) or about the same as they are now (24%). About 17% said they were not sure.

The results of the poll — which sampled 4,540 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points — varied significantly by partisan affiliation, with Democrats having a rosier picture of life north of the border than Republicans.

In fact, a majority of Democrats, 57%, said their lives would generally be better in Canada. Meanwhile, 34% of independents and 14% of Republicans agreed.

On the flip side, just 6% of Democrats said their lives would be worse, while 19% of independents and 45% of Republicans said so.

The poll comes as tensions between the U.S. and Canada have risen following President Donald Trump’s return to office.

Trump has said that, starting on March 4, he will impose a 25% tariff on all goods imported from Canada, according to NBC News. And since his inauguration, he has repeatedly suggested that the U.S. should take control of Canada and make it the “51st state.”

Picking up on this, the poll asked respondents which party they believed Canadians would mostly vote for in American elections if they were eligible.

Nearly half, 48%, said they would largely vote for Democrats, while just 11% said they would vote for Republicans. Another 11% said they’d vote for both parties equally, and 30% said they were not sure.

The vast majority of polled Democrats, 76%, said they believed Canadians would vote for their party. Republicans were more skeptical of their own party’s chances, with 30% saying they’d vote for Republicans and 30% saying they’d vote for Democrats.

Lastly, the poll asked respondents whether they thought the U.S. or Canada has a better reputation on the world stage.

A slight plurality, 40%, said Canada has a better reputation, while 36% said the U.S. has better standing internationally. Twelve percent said both equally and the same share said they were not sure.

This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 10:48 AM with the headline "Do Americans think their lives would be better living in Canada? What one poll found."